President Vetoed Special Levy for Chains, Considers It to Be Non-Systemic

Bratislava, December 12 (TASR) – Slovak President Andrej Kiska has vetoed the act on a special levy for retail chains, proposing that MPs should not adopt it as a whole when they vote on it again, TASR learnt on Wednesday.

The head of state considers the new special levy to be a non-systemic tool that discriminates against certain retail chains in relation to others by setting numerous and overlapping terms for paying the levy.

According to the president, the selected criteria are arbitrary and unsubstantiated taking into account the structure of the retail market in Slovakia. Dividing traders into specific groups deforms competition. In his statement, Kiska pointed out that the introduction of the special levy won’t change the declared objective of a fairer distribution of added value within the supplier’s food chain.

Kiska believes that the law puts on retailers additional tax, which will be ultimately paid by consumers.

According to the vetoed law, retail chains operating in Slovakia should pay a special levy amounting to 2.5 percent of their net turnover as of next year. Parliament adopted the act on Thursday last week (December 6).

With the new legislation, which was submitted by a group of MPs from the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS), the party wants to support Slovak farmers and domestic food producers, as the money gained from the levy should be used for creating a risk fund and a marketing fund to support sales of Slovak food.